Soccer player faces third concussion, has warning for female athletes

They say if it isn't broken, don't fix it. But what happens when something is broken, but no one can see it That is the dilemma of a concussion.

Author:
Lana Harris

Published:
10:23 PM EDT June 27, 2018

Updated:
11:27 PM EDT June 27, 2018

They say if it isn't broken, don't fix it. But what happens when something is broken, but no one can see it?

That is the dilemma of a concussion.

"It's an invisible injury, we call [it]," said Dr. Nata Salvatori with the Brooks Center for Sports Therapy. Brooks says she created a concussion program at the center after seeing an overwhelming need for concussion care in the Jacksonville area.

For soccer goalie Cassidy Wasdin, this "invisible injury" could cost her her soccer scholarship to FAU. Wasdin just graduated high school and has plans to attend the school in the fall.

Wasden got her first concussion in 2012 during a game.

"Two nights after the concussion is when I realized she had a concussion," said Cassidy's mother, Darlene Wasdin. "She sat down at the dinner table and she was slurring everything, she couldn't communicate at all."

Darlene Wasdin says Cassidy's coach at the time noticed she couldn't comprehend things or follow directions at practice.

"I took her to the hospital and they sent her home with a headache that night," Darlene Wasdin said.

Since then, Cassidy Wasdin has had two more concussions, the latest one in April.

"She came out to get the ball, she dove out and the girl kicked her in the eye," Darlene Wasdin said. "I knew right away she had another concussion."

"We were doing the simple eye movements with the head an I would feel like I just ran five miles," Cassidy Wasdin said.

Salvatori says concussions are heavily underdiagnosed, especially in female athletes. She attributes part of that to the difficulty in spotting it.

"You're going to have a negative MRI, you're going to have a negative CT scan," Salvatori said, "so there's nothing objective to show."

Simply walking on a treadmill is part of the program, where they work on heart rate, balance, speech, headaches, and other concussion-related symptoms,

Cassidy Wasdin says she wanted to bring awareness so people don't discount their symptoms.

"If it's two weeks out and you're still having a lot of symptoms, most people would be like, 'oh, she's being dramatic,' but everyone's brain is built differently and so it heals on it's own time," Cassidy Wasdin said.

Cassidy Wasdin says she can already see the improvements she's made since starting the program and hopes to get back on the field.

"Each week, coming to the therapies and seeing the progress, I'm very proud of her," Darlene Wasdin said.